Tom Ridge Quits New Bloomberg Anti-Gun Group

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge suddenly quit the board of the New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's new gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety — the second Republican to resign from a Bloomberg effort this month over concerns about its mission or planned political activities.

"When I signed on as an adviser to Everytown, I looked forward to a thoughtful and provocative discussion about the toll gun violence takes on Americans,” Ridge, who served under President George W. Bush, told The Daily Caller in a statement. "After consultation with Everytown, I have decided that I am uncomfortable with their expected electoral work."

Having Ridge aboard was considered a coup for Bloomberg because the former Pennsylvania governor is a Republican, the Daily Caller reports. The former mayor, whose 12-year term ended in January, was planning to spend $50 million on the group in hopes of it rivaling the National Rifle Association, according to The New York Times.

But earlier this month, the GOP mayor of Danbury, Ct., resigned from Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns, saying the billionaire "overwhelms the entire group."

Mark Boughton, who's also among several GOP candidates in the Connecticut gubernatorial race, said that the group's focus had changed from illegal gun trafficking to broader gun controls.

"It's really become about Bloomberg instead of going after illegal guns," he told The Connecticut Mirror. "Mike Bloomberg overwhelms the entire group. I think its mission has been lost."

"Our organization represents the views of the majority of Americans who support reasonable laws to keep families safe," the organization said in a statement. "When necessary, that will mean taking on the gun lobby in state capitols and at the ballot box."